Starting pitcher, relief pitchers: It's a rotation of summer punch

Bramble On Punch features blackberries. Deb LindseyFor The Washington Post

Bramble On Punch features blackberries. Deb LindseyFor The Washington Post

We are into the sweet season, these months when much of the fruit coming out of the ground and out of the trees is so good it should be carried on a gilded litter and polished gently with silken scarves – before being eaten, of course. In fact, these warm months mean that it’s smart to double up on fruit purchases.

With several months ahead to read lazily under shade trees or picnic with friends at beaches and parks, it’s the right time to be turning to fruit-at-its-best as a ready-made cocktail ingredient. And it’s the wrong time for sweating fussily over drinks.

Whether you’re in your own backyard or toting something sweet and boozy to a barbecue across town, fruit-centered punches bring the season’s ripest offerings to the fore in an over-and-done-with format; as in, your work is finished for the afternoon. Pick your fruit and then think about what booze would deepen or brighten it. Stone fruits such as nectarines, cherries and peaches marry beautifully with bourbon; lime, ripe melons and mezcal can make for glorious margaritas; strawberries and Campari match up in color and complement each other’s flavors perfectly. Vodka, of course, is a blank page waiting for a dozen fruity hues.

Citrus fruits’ intense juiciness makes incorporation easy. The fruits require nothing more complex than a reamer to reap their bounty. Other less-liquidy fruits, or those with a lot of seeds, are more of a chore to work with. But there are so many ways to get at their flavors: Drop slices of them into your chosen alcohol overnight, using the booze to draw out their flavor. Blend them with spirits and juicier fruits, then strain out solids and seeds as needed. Cook them gently with vinegar and sugar to make a shrub, adjusting sweetness and tartness as you please. And remember that preserves can play a role, too - they need a strong shake and strain to break up the jellied pectins, but when that’s done right, preserves add a nice, silky quality to a drink.

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The accompanying five pitcher-friendly fruit punches will get you started. Several of these are flexible in terms of the spirit you can use, and some also can be stretched with the addition of something nonalcoholic, in case you’re serving a crowd or just drinking a whole lazy afternoon away.

If you’re drinking a batch over time, you’ll want to make sure you have a long spoon at hand, to stir it up in case any ingredients settle or separate, and if you’re going to be hanging around outdoors, the more you can chill the drinks in advance, the better, so the ice doesn’t melt too quickly as you and the pitcher sweat in the sun.

Summer garden punch

Serves 16

Here, turning fresh cherry tomatoes into a sweet-and-savory shrub intensifies their flavors. You’ll need cheesecloth and a fine-mesh strainer to prepare the shrub.

Make ahead: Make the tomato shrub a few hours ahead of time (and up to 2 weeks in advance) to ensure it’s adequately chilled by the time you make the punch.

From M. Carrie Allan.

For the tomato shrub:

2 cups cherry tomatoes

One 14-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sherry vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

2 sprigs rosemary

2 cups water

For the punch:

3 cups green chili vodka

1 cup dry vermouth

1/2 to 3/4 cup tonic water, or as needed

Ice

Cherry tomatoes, for garnish

Thin cucumber slices, for garnish

Cilantro sprigs, for garnish

For the tomato shrub: Cut each cherry tomato in half, placing them in a large saucepan as you work.

Add the canned tomatoes, pepper, salt, vinegar, sugar, rosemary and water, stirring to blend well. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, stirring regularly and pressing on the solids to break them up. Let cool.

Meanwhile, line the fine-mesh strainer with two layers of cheesecloth; set the strainer over a large bowl.

Ladle the cooled shrub mixture scoop by scoop into the strainer, pressing on the solids so the liquids are captured in the bowl below. The yield is about 3 1/2 cups. Discard the solids, then transfer the shrub to a sealed container. Refrigerate for a few hours, until well chilled (and up to 2 weeks).

For the punch: Combine 3 cups of the shrub, the vodka and vermouth in a large mixing bowl, stirring to incorporate, then pour into a large pitcher. Chill until you’re ready to serve.

To serve, add the tonic water (to taste) and stir. Fill individual glasses with ice and your desired garnishes, then pour the punch into the glasses.

This is a delicious and intriguing fusion of sweet, summery pineapple and funky, herbal Chartreuse. Some recipes are a little more heavy with the booze-to-juice proportions; we’ve trimmed this one back to highlight the juice and make for a light, tart summer sip.

Fresh pineapple juice is best; even if you have to use a bottled/canned variety, you may want to run it through a fine-mesh strainer to eliminate the pulp. If you have blue curacao on hand and want a drink that looks especially tropical, consider adding an ounce or two to punch up the color; if you don’t have it, skip it.

Combine the pineapple juice, lime juice, Chartreuse and the curacao (to taste), if using, in a large pitcher, stirring to blend well. Add the large cubes of ice; once the punch is chilled, stir it again. Serve in ice-filled highball glasses, garnish with mint sprigs.

Freshly squeezed juice is best, but if you use a commercial brand, choose a fresh one that hasn’t been sweetened from the refrigerated section.

You can use a smoky mezcal such as Del Maguey Vida here, or take this punch in another direction with a London dry gin. (If you want to make a bubbly, lower-alcohol version, you can lengthen the punch by adding measures of tonic or Pellegrino grapefruit soda.)

The aperitif wine Cocchi Rosa adds a lightly sweet, fruity note and the bitterness of quinine.

MAKE AHEAD: Make this pitcher-punch 1 hour in advance to give it time to chill in the refrigerator.

From M. Carrie Allan.

3 1/2 cups ruby red grapefruit juice (see headnote)

2 1/2 cups Cocchi Rosa aperitif wine (see headnote)

1 3/4 cups mezcal or London dry gin

3/4 ounce Angostura bitters

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 thyme sprigs

Large ice cubes

Combine the juice, Cocchi Rosa, mezcal or gin, bitters and salt in a large pitcher, stirring to blend well.

Add the thyme sprigs; transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour.

Stir, then add the large ice cubes. Keep a long-handled spoon at hand to stir the punch if you’re serving it over a length of time. Pour into punch cups (without sending any of the thyme sprigs into them).

In this pitcher drink, sweet fig preserves mix with the spice of chai tea and citrus for a bright, lightly spicy punch.

You’ll need a cocktail shaker and the spring from a Hawthorne strainer.

From M. Carrie Allan.

1 1/4 cups fig preserves, such as Bonne Maman brand

1 1/4 cups fresh lemon juice (from 5 or 6 lemons)

3 1/2 cups bourbon or dark rum

2 1/4 cups chilled chai tea

1/2 ounce pimento bitters

Large ice cubes

Slices of fresh fig (in season) and/or lemon wheels, for garnish

Combine the fig preserves and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker; add the spring from a Hawthorne strainer. Seal and shake vigorously for 1 minute to break up the pectin and other solids in the preserves. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a pitcher. Add the bourbon or rum, tea and bitters, stirring to combine. Add the ice and fruit garnishes. Keep a long-handled spoon at hand to stir if you’re serving this over a length of time. Pour into punch cups.